New Delhi: Fewer screens and competition from blockbusters Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa notwithstanding, the Shiboprosad Mukherjee-directed Bangla film Bohurupi has set new records at the Tollywood box office.
Released on October 8, nearly a month ago, it has grossed over Rs 13 crore so far, emerging as the year’s biggest Bangla hit and one of the top five highest-grossing Bengali films of all time.
It’s a repeat feat for filmmaker duo Shiboprasad Mukherjee and Nandita Ray, who also made the hit Raktabeej, released during Durga Puja last year.
Bohurupi not only beat another star-studded Bengali film Tekka, featuring Dev, Rukmini Maitra, and Swastika Mukherjee, but also beat out Hindi films like Jigra and Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video. It’s an outlier in Bengali cinema, which has been going through a slump for some years now.
“What worked for Bohurupi is that it showed the larger Bengal. It is not a South Kolkata-oriented story, watched only by a sophisticated middle class. It was unapologetic about what it offered. It is an entertaining commercial film, rooted in soil,” said Zinia Sen, screen writer and creative producer of the movie.
The film, which claims to be inspired by true events, tells the story of a bohurupi—a traditional quick-change performer—who uses his uses his talent for disguise to pull off daring bank heists. Shiboprasad Mukherjee plays the titular role while Abir Chatterjee stars as the cop who is determined to arrest him.
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Houseful shows, hit songs
Apart from its commercial success, Bohurupi has also been lauded critics, marking another success for Windows Productions. The screenplay “weaves human relationships, family tension, love, adventure, thrilling moments, blood-stirring dialogues, and a lot of Bengali sentiment,” wrote Sudip Ghosh in his review for Bengali daily Anandabazar.
Windows Productions, helmed by Mukherjee and Ray, saw Raktabeej earn Rs 5 crore last year. That film, based on the 2014 Khagragarh blast in West Bengal, starred Victor Banerjee, Abir Bhattacharya, and Mimi Chakraborty. The rights were sold before its theatrical release to Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus Hotstar.
“We did not have the budget earlier to make films like Raktabeej and Bohurupi. Once Raktabeej worked, we could invest more in making Bohurupi,” Sen told ThePrint.
The film performed well in both multiplexes and single-screen theatres across Bengal, according to Sen.
“Minar cinema in Kolkata had many houseful shows of the movie. In fact, the dusty ‘houseful’ board was cleaned and put up on the ticket counter while I was in the hall,” she said.
The film’s music, especially the song Dakatiya Banshi featuring actor Koushani Mukherjee, has garnered 2.9 million views on YouTube. Sen also claimed that over “55,000 reels” have been made using the song.
“People have come in to watch the movie from everywhere,” said the owner of a single-screen theatre in Kolkata. “We made some money off a Bengali film after a long time.”
(Edited by Asavari Singh)